Benghazi Suspect Ordered Held, Defense Says Prosecution Hasn't Shared Sufficient Evidence - East Idaho News
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Benghazi Suspect Ordered Held, Defense Says Prosecution Hasn’t Shared Sufficient Evidence

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Thinkstock 070214 JudgeGavel?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1404356458899iStockphoto/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — Benghazi suspect Ahmed Abu Khatallah was ordered held on Wednesday by a federal magistrate judge, until his defense attorney can learn more about the government’s case.

Public defender Michelle Peterson said that federal prosecutors had offered an “utter lack of evidence” to her client’s role in the attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012. Still, Peterson conceded that her client’s detention is appropriate at this time.

Peterson claimed that much of what she knows of the government’s case against Khatallah, she has learned from press reports. This, she said, makes defending the suspect “incredibly difficult.”

Prosecutors said that they recently shared “critical video clips” with the defense team and that Khatallah has made voluntary statements to authorities. Still, Peterson claims that she has not been made aware of what information those statements contained.

Khatallah is set to return to court for a status hearing on July 11.


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